A break!

As I sit to type out this post at the computer it feels like it has been weeks since I last wrote. I almost began the post with an apology for my absence, and then realised that it has only been a few days since my last post! Why did I think that I had been absent for ages? Because the chicks and I had a break. Just what we all needed.

After the flurry of activity to prepare for the markets 10 days ago, the chicks returned from their father’s house with their feathers all ruffled and out of sorts. As we worked through some of the issues last week I realised that we needed a circuit breaker. A chance to regroup. I decided that I needed to bend the rules and create our own long weekend and go camping. So we did! Friday afternoon we left Canberra and drove up and over the mountain range that separates us from the coastline, navigating winding steep roads, while towing our beloved camper trailer. It was the best decision I have made in a while!

We arrived while it was still light, and started the set up, during the windiest period of the weekend! (Of course that was after I had managed to lose control of the trailer while manoeuvring it into place – without chocking the wheels……. my usual dramatic arrival was achieved. Luckily a neighbouring tent rope and a tree stopped it from actually hitting the beach. The only injury was to my pride. Again.) The girls helped me to get the tent up despite the flapping canvas and flying poles, while the boy found his new best friends and started digging a hole in the sand.

The view from the tent on Saturday morning – children (including mine) digging a hole in the sand.

We had the perfect day on Saturday – investigating rock pools, digging holes in the sand, riding our surf mats, swimming in the pool, playing cards with fierce competition and having pancakes for dinner!

The three chicks delighted in each new find, sharing their discoveries with each other.

The clear waters of a rock-pool full of seaweed

The boy was so excited to find a crab nipper ‘that still works!’.

The eldest chick found a piece of beautiful blue shell with a delicate sea weed attached to it.

The boy looked in vain for an anemone.

The boy was ready to try riding the waves for the first time, but got dumped by a large wave and was very upset. After a small rest on the sand, and listening to some instructions about how to catch a wave from me, he went back out there and had a ball! By this stage his new friends from the first night were now part of the family, and we got to share their fire to toast marshmallows that night. I forgot to take any charger cords for our various i-devices so I only have photos from the first day, but the girls had a great time trying to capture the perfect scene on their iPods in between appearing in a sandy heap at the door of the tent to request food.

By Sunday morning we had giant waves, and a strong undertow, thanks to a cyclone in New Zealand, so there was no sea play, but we made up for that lack of excitement with a trip to the nearest emergency room after the middle chick had a large crash off her skateboard, going down a hill. X-rays and many hours later, nothing was broken, and we all returned to camp, to discover that we had missed the rain, and were in time for the rainbow.

We made up for our missed opportunities on Monday (I gave the kids a day off school) by climbing up to the top of the cliffs and watching the waves, looking for whales and dolphins and exclaiming about everything we saw! We had a leisurely pack up and didn’t leave until mid-afternoon, squeezing one last swim in the pool in before we left.

The middle chick and the boy investigating new finds on the beach on Monday morning after a super high tide in the night.

There is something magical about sleeping under canvas, listening to crashing waves, finding what has been washed up on the beach in the night, and being together in one space. It helped to do a bit of healing that we all needed, patching up some spots in the family that had been rubbing thin. We all agreed that we need to do it again – soon. And often.

All of that time living the simple life gave me time to think, to overthink, to reassess, to plan, then forget the plan. I have been off work for quite a while now. I am slowly getting stronger, but the littlest thing can still push me backwards – and big things have a huge effect. It means that processing the options and trying to plan the way forward is hard – there are so many unknowns! If only writing a blog, sewing bags and bibs, talking about creating, recycling, sharing and having a love of fabric could support my little family! I am sure it will one day, but for now the future is uncertain and I am trying to remember to do one thing at a time. Recognising how far I have come is useful – 3 months ago I couldn’t imagine taking the chicks camping as the organisation required was overwhelming. This time, I just kept things simple, and when I realised that we had forgotten something, just improvised. (Hence pancakes for dinner!)

For now, doing one thing at a time means that I have an awful lot of sewing to get through in the next week, with a number of custom orders ready to go (if only the FedEx man and I can coordinate our schedules better – I missed him by 7 minutes today), and a request to restock my bibs in the Handmade Shop! (So exciting!!)

I also need to list all the stock that I have made in my Etsy shop. Don’t forget that there is a sale on until Friday – making room for the new things coming……

I hope that you had a great weekend, and were able to spend time with the ones you love, doing things that bring you closer together.

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2 thoughts on “A break!”

So glad you didn’t start with with an apology – how many bloggers get on with life for a bit and then go back to post and begin with a vague, rambling apology? Yeah – too many! Anyway, great to see you had a break – and are still with us as a blogger! Yay!

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the little bird

Welcome to a little bird made me! I am Theresa, the little bird who makes things. My other labels include mother of three, owner of dogs, sheep and chickens, grower of plants, autism parent, hoarder of fabric and yarn, retired lawyer, maker of all sorts of things that take my fancy, lover of a good gin and tonic, and tea addict. I am based in rural New South Wales, Australia.

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